On Nov. 14, 2001, Rickards admitted to investigators with the Mount Vernon Police Department that he stabbed his sister, Samantha, nearly 20 times inside their Mount Vernon, Washington, home, according to an arrest report. Rickards told police he then placed his sister’s body inside a freezer.

The teen explained to investigators that voices in his head told him to kill his sister. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and treated for mental health issues, according to court documents.

Rickards, who is now 29, says he has been working hard to better himself after his release. Court documents say he’s working as a licensed electrician. He says he’s trying to pass a background check in order to become a licensed hearing instrument specialist.

Skagit County prosecutor Richard Weyrich released a statement regarding Rickards’ request, saying his office is “sensitive to juveniles being able to rehabilitate themselves and have their records sealed but this is not one of those cases.”

Weyrich hopes to ask the Legislature in the upcoming session to correct what he considers a mistake in the wording of the current statute.

It has been 16 years since the brutal crime occurred and the people who live in Mt. Vernon still want answers.